Who wants to go on a "zombie walk" for ghost month?

Okay then! So, I guess that means I get to make fun of the folk religion too, huh Chief?

[quote=“almas john”]Amen Brother!
These Bolshevik blasphemers should crawl and swim to Red China. Although Ghost Month has a few seemingly absurd elements to it, at it’s heart is ancestor worship, and I don’t see what is wrong with paying respects to one’s forebears.[/quote]

You’re thinking Tomb Sweeping Day. This month is all about that great Chinese tradition of bribing, in this case, potentially vengeful ghosts from haunting you.

I love all the festivities but the ghost money burning has to go. I have loved ones who suffer terrible asthma every time there are these big burnings. I’ve actually told people when walking by their piles that I hope they get cancer. Not nice but neither is going to emergency all night and watching something get pumped full of steroids and put on a respirator.

[quote=“Mucha Man”][quote=“almas john”]Amen Brother!
These Bolshevik blasphemers should crawl and swim to Red China. Although Ghost Month has a few seemingly absurd elements to it, at it’s heart is ancestor worship, and I don’t see what is wrong with paying respects to one’s forebears.[/quote]

You’re thinking Tomb Sweeping Day. This month is all about that great Chinese tradition of bribing, in this case, potentially vengeful ghosts from haunting you.
[/quote]

Common misconception. The ghosts are sexier so they get all the headlines. But it’s actually ghosts and ancestors, not just the former. It’s more than just “bribery.”

[quote=“almas john”][quote=“Muzha Man”][quote=“almas john”]Amen Brother!
These Bolshevik blasphemers should crawl and swim to Red China. Although Ghost Month has a few seemingly absurd elements to it, at it’s heart is ancestor worship, and I don’t see what is wrong with paying respects to one’s forebears.[/quote]

You’re thinking Tomb Sweeping Day. This month is all about that great Chinese tradition of bribing, in this case, potentially vengeful ghosts from haunting you.
[/quote]

Common misconception. The ghosts are sexier so they get all the headlines. But it’s actually ghosts and ancestors, not just the former. [/quote]

You are correct. I just tend to think of all ancestor worship in the same light: bribery to keep the dead from haunting the living, though there is an element of respect in there as well.

[quote=“Mucha Man”][quote=“almas john”][quote=“Muzha Man”][quote=“almas john”]Amen Brother!
These Bolshevik blasphemers should crawl and swim to Red China. Although Ghost Month has a few seemingly absurd elements to it, at it’s heart is ancestor worship, and I don’t see what is wrong with paying respects to one’s forebears.[/quote]

You’re thinking Tomb Sweeping Day. This month is all about that great Chinese tradition of bribing, in this case, potentially vengeful ghosts from haunting you.
[/quote]

Common misconception. The ghosts are sexier so they get all the headlines. But it’s actually ghosts and ancestors, not just the former. [/quote]

You are correct. I just tend to think of all ancestor worship in the same light: bribery to keep the dead from haunting the living, though there is an element of respect in there as well.[/quote]

I think writers should actually be a bit clearer on this point when writing up ghost month stuff. I know I’ve been guilty of concentrating on the bribery aspect. Truth be told, it really disgusted me when I first turned up on the island.
After being very cynical and dismissive of religion here, the respect thing for the deceased is something I’ve come around to more over the years. You can see it in how family members are often reluctant to sell unused parcels of land.

[quote=“almas john”][quote=“Muzha Man”][quote=“almas john”][quote=“Muzha Man”][quote=“almas john”]Amen Brother!
These Bolshevik blasphemers should crawl and swim to Red China. Although Ghost Month has a few seemingly absurd elements to it, at it’s heart is ancestor worship, and I don’t see what is wrong with paying respects to one’s forebears.[/quote]

You’re thinking Tomb Sweeping Day. This month is all about that great Chinese tradition of bribing, in this case, potentially vengeful ghosts from haunting you.
[/quote]

Common misconception. The ghosts are sexier so they get all the headlines. But it’s actually ghosts and ancestors, not just the former. [/quote]

You are correct. I just tend to think of all ancestor worship in the same light: bribery to keep the dead from haunting the living, though there is an element of respect in there as well.[/quote]

I think writers should actually be a bit clearer on this point when writing up ghost month stuff. I know I’ve been guilty of concentrating on the bribery aspect. Truth be told, it really disgusted me when I first turned up on the island.
After being very cynical and dismissive of religion here, the respect thing for the deceased is something I’ve come around to more over the years. You can see it in how family members are often reluctant to sell unused parcels of land.[/quote]

True. I think as a real motivation we should look to respect. No one now thinks they are bribing their dead relatives. Bribery is really only important to put some forms of ghost worship in context. I must admit too that ghost festival is the one that I have studied the least. Somehow never really captured my imagination.

if your dead, your dead.

Dust to dust etc.

I ain’t afraid of no ghosts

Mucha Man,
Agree with you. I’m exposed to much much more of this traditional culture living down in the sticks in the south.
Goodness me, I’m even take an interest in temple architecture. Ahhhhhhhhhh. Add that to the “Been in Taiwan too long” lists.
Anyway, nice to have an intelligent exchange with someone on this forum.

Not MY dead, YOUR dead. Sheesh.

[quote=“almas john”]Muzha Man,
Agree with you. I’m exposed to much much more of this traditional culture living down in the sticks in the south.
Goodness me, I’m even take an interest in temple architecture. Ahhhhhhhhhh. Add that to the “Been in Taiwan too long” lists.
Anyway, nice to have an intelligent exchange with someone on this forum.[/quote]

The more personal festivals are best seen in the context of family. Since I don’t really have that option anymore I’ve lost a lot of interest and see them mostly as the annoying habits of my neighbors. :laughing:

But temple architecture is a definite hobby with me. Hope to be doing a documentary on it later in the year.

There’s more to the dead than meets the eye.

Superstition is only part of the explanation. Social and family pressure is another. (This may be decreasing–on our block only 3 houses out of 15 did baibai, though several were Christian, and others did it with relatives elsewhere.) The ghost cult is not so much about appeasing the dead, but manipulating the living.

Amyway, when the Communists take over, I hope they appoint me in charge of the anti-superstition brigades! Qigong practitioners, Chinese doctors, sundry Daoists, fortune-tellers, mediums, and exorcists–look out!

China folk ghosts are mostly girls and they look like this:

BUT

If you wanna be a China folk zombie, then you gotta do it like this:

And that is a mixture of zombie AND vampire and you can only jump, so you better strengthen those calf muscles!

Hmmmm Michael Jackson? But he’s not Chinese, can he still become a Chinese ghost? Or is that Leslie Chueng? :ponder:

Yes! # 2! That’s what I want to be! Need hat…

On the ghost thing, what day are they supposed to come out?

[quote=“Zla’od”]On the ghost thing, what day are they supposed to come out?[/quote] I think that was two days ago… :doh:

No, you’re still good, it’s still Ghost Month…them hao shung di (good buddies) are still around cos the gates to the underworld is still open, it won’t close till the end of Lunar July.

Unfortunately this reluctance to sell is one reason why new developments (be they houses, factories or whatever) are usually on greenfield sites. So much good agricultural land is disappearing, while nearby there are plots of land already concreted over/spoiled but no longer used for anything. Not only does this make the island look messy, it may well be regretted when/if peak oil comes and food isn’t so easy to come by.

Unfortunately this reluctance to sell is one reason why new developments (be they houses, factories or whatever) are usually on greenfield sites. So much good agricultural land is disappearing, while nearby there are plots of land already concreted over/spoiled but no longer used for anything. Not only does this make the island look messy, it may well be regretted when/if peak oil comes and food isn’t so easy to come by.[/quote]

Isn’t it simply because it is easier and cheaper to expropriate farmland and rezone? Lots of profit to be made rezoning, but if the land is already developed then proper market rates would apply.

It’s the same that happened in Spain before the financial crysis… Many farm lands were rezoned, many cities (and by cities I mean the corrupt politicians that were in charge then) earned ludicrous amounts of money. Then they began building everywhere, at rising prices. Until the banks decided that they couldn’t lend people more money to buy apartments at outrageous prices. Then everything exploded and the finantial system went down the sink.

The government would do good in controlling the rezoning of farmlands to avoid over-construction, and like StevenCrook said, if there’s an oil peak, the extra food may come in handy.